When the province went into lockdown earlier this year, Bradford mother Tara Lyne Murhib and her nine-year-old daughter Natalia started loom knitting together.
"I like knitting I find it very relaxing and calming," said Tara Lyne, who hopes not just Natalia but her other two daughters will eventually take up the hobby as well.
Tara Lyne has loved to knit ever since her mother taught her when she was a little girl. She finds it calming and therapeutic, and will often do it in the evenings before bed while watching TV with her husband.
Prior to the pandemic, she started a knitting program at the school where she teaches. She works with a lot of children who have behavioural issues and says the knitting was helpful for them.
"More schools should have it," she said.
It wasn't until the lockdown in March when Natalia decided she wanted to take up loom knitting with her mother.
Loom knitting is done but without the use of needles. Instead, wool is weaved through a small apparatus with pegs on a frame to create beautiful pieces.
"It's the easy way to knit," shares Tara Lyne. "We'll take it around and twirl it."
The ladies began creating beautiful, soft knitted pumpkins topped with cinnamon stick stems and posting them on Facebook Marketplace at the end of the summer. They were overwhelmed with the positive response from the community.
"I posted them (on Facebook) just thinking, we'll see, who knows," shared Tara Lyne, but as soon as she shared them on social media, her phone wouldn't stop buzzing with orders.
"We've got a few on the go right now," she said.
Each pumpkin can take up to two hours to make, depending on the size. They purchase all their sewing supplies from Michael's craft store.
"We're working hard," said Tara Lyne. "We go camping on weekends and we knit."
Tara Lyne and her husband are proud of Natalia and how hard she has been working on the pumpkins, adding that the business aspect of it has taught her a lot about money and the value of a dollar.
With the money earned from her sales, Natalia was able to save up enough to purchase her own MP3 player.
"And I still have $140 left," shared Natalia.
Tara Lyne and Natalia are hoping that next year they might be able to sell their pumpkins at local farmers' markets or even at Carrot Fest.
"Probably over the winter time we'll make some in advance," said Tara Lyne.
For now the ladies are busy just trying to fulfill their current orders, and will take the time over the winter to figure out their future business plans.
